The first all-new Jeep since the 1999 Grand Cherokee, Liberty is offered in Sport and Limited Edition versions. Liberty gives the Jeep name some new character lines – evidenced by technical underpinnings like coil sprung independent front suspension as well as rack and pinion steering. The cute-looking Liberty Limited Edition is a nimble road hustler with a standard 3.7-liter V6 engine that produces 210 horsepower. Liberty’s uniframe construction combines body-on-frame into a unitized system in which more than 70 percent of the underbody is high-strength steel.

A one-week test drive of Liberty elicited favorable impressions, including the panoramic road scan enabled via the vehicle’s upright stance, and the superb turning radius that made cornering and 90-degree turns very fluid. Liberty features a patented single-action swing gate/flipper glass tailgate. (Gate swing and upward glass movement can be done separately if desired.) Jeep Liberty’s overall interior earns praise for a unified appearance. But the gauge cluster’s back panel includes too many unnecessary circular cutaways for reminder lights (23 in the tested vehicle). With 4-speed automatic transmission, Liberty’s mpg estimates are 16 city/20 highway. Suggested base price of Limited Edition is $22,980.